


just this once

by rangerhitomi



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: CFVG Next Era, Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Making Out, Sharing a Bed, Supportive Friend Miwa, Waking Up In Each Other's Arms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 14:23:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19443247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: The Association is worried that Gyze's Apostles will target Ibuki in his home, so Mamoru stays the night with him. They proceed to make out, but only after Mamoru has an existential crisis over kissing his boss.





	just this once

**Author's Note:**

> i wanted to write ibumamo snuggling but then

Ibuki lives in a derelict apartment building in a derelict part of the city, with his door facing out onto the street below. Only one of the three street lamps in front of the building works, and it is naturally the one farthest from Ibuki's door. The only way in or out of the apartment is through the front door or the front window; there is no escape route in the back.

It doesn't make Mamoru feel safe in the slightest.

Ibuki opens the door and pulls out his phone, using it to illuminate the floor so he can find the switch for the single lamp on the single desk in the single-room apartment. In the dim light, Mamoru takes note of the sparse furnishings (the table and a tatami mat on the floor are the only furniture, no television) and the complete lack of decorations. It's exactly the opposite of Mamoru's spacious, bright home. Ibuki can afford way better than this on the salary of Association Director, so why...?

The light in the kitchen space flickers on. Fluorescent and dim, buzzing incessantly as though filled with bees, illuminating a sink, a tiny square of counter space, half a dozen cabinets, and a battered refrigerator. Ibuki fills a glass of water at the tap and drains it in one breath before slamming the cup on the counter.

He walks past Mamoru into the bathroom without a word.

Mamoru sets his bag on the table, set up with exactly one chair, and goes into the kitchen area.

It's rude of him, maybe, sneaking around someone else's cabinets, but he opens them one by one and finds what he expected but hoped he was wrong about: one plate, one bowl, presumably the one cup on the counter, one each of the major eating utensils, one battered rice cooker, one measuring cup, one frying pan, one spatula. One bag of rice (unopened), seven boxes of caloriemate bars, half a bottle of soy sauce, and a carton of soy milk.

"I'm not here much," Ibuki says, and Mamoru jumps a little. "Water?"

Ibuki fills the cup on the counter with water before remembering that he'd already used it, and starts to empty it. Mamoru gently takes it from his hands. "It's fine," he says, "thank you."

The water has an odd flavor -- old pipes leaching the metals into the water, probably -- but Mamoru drinks it and hands the glass back to Ibuki.

Ibuki leans against the counter and looks away from Mamoru. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"I didn't want you to come here."

Ibuki had argued with Branch Chief Suzugamori and Kai and Miwa and Aichi and Ryuutaro about how he didn't need anyone to escort him home. But they, and Mamoru, were worried about Ibuki's safety; the Apostles had been targeting fighters one at a time, and it was only a matter of time before one of them would target Ibuki walking home alone.

Mamoru can't stomach that.

There isn't much he can do if someone were to break in here; Ibuki is trained in martial arts and is a plenty strong enough fighter to hold his own, all facts that Ibuki brought up in the meeting. But Mamoru and the others all agree that it's better for there to be another person there with him just in case.

_(Just in case what? Mamoru asked, but no one gave him a clear answer until after the meeting when Kai and Aichi expressed their joint concern that Ibuki would do something rash if left to his own devices._

_He tries to do too much on his own, they said._

_He's always been like that.)_

It fell to Mamoru, at Suzugamori's suggestion, and Ibuki flat-out refused to go to Mamoru's place. The Apostles already know where Ibuki lives; he doesn't want to risk them finding Mamoru's home too. With all their resources, the Apostles could easily access any of Mamoru's information, but it was best not to breach the obvious concern, Miwa whispered to Mamoru. Ibuki had a lot on his plate as it was.

"Is it because it's dark and miserable in here?"

Ibuki looks away. "I don't spend much time here. Just to sleep and shower, mostly."

The tatami mat lies unfolded against the wall opposite the desk. It's small, narrower than Mamoru's own bed, but maybe it's all Ibuki needs. Maybe _all_ of this is all Ibuki needs.

"I don't have anywhere for you to sleep, either," Ibuki continues.

_Oh._

"That's fine," Mamoru says with more indifference in his voice than he actually feels, "I have work to do anyway."

Ibuki opens his mouth to protest, but Mamoru shakes his head. "No, just sleep. I'll be fine, I promise."

"You're going to sleep at least a few hours tonight," Ibuki warms, voice stern. "You can't do good work when you're exhausted. I-- we need you at your best."

Mamoru barely catches the slip. He gives Ibuki a warm smile. "You worry too much."

"So you've told me."

"You need to sleep, too. More than me." Mamoru gazes thoughtfully at the ceiling. "You're more important to this plan than I am. We're all relying on you to keep us alive through all of this," and he wishes he didn't have to remind Ibuki that one wrong move in this face-off against the Apostles really could wind up with all of them dead.

Ibuki frowns. "I'm going to brush my teeth."

As he walks away, Mamoru hears Ibuki whisper, _don't think you're not important, Mamoru._

* * *

By the dim glow of his phone's backlight, Mamoru flips through the stack of file folders on the desk, forcing his increasingly tired eyes to focus on anything that would help figure out where Gastille and the other Apostles had set up their base. Knowing the identity of Gastille's Vanguard yields no connections -- he had no major financial or real estate ties -- and there are still no hints of Hoshizaki Noa's whereabouts.

The enemy is always three steps ahead, and Mamoru is getting tired of it. Tired of not knowing anything, tired of being the last to learn things, tired...

Tired...

_So tired..._

He jolts upright at the sensation of hands gripping his shoulders tightly.

"It's just me."

"Ibuki? When did you--"

"You fell asleep sitting here," Ibuki says quietly, not letting go of Mamoru's shoulders.

"I did not. I'm awake."

"Your phone went into sleep mode eight minutes ago."

"Too much of the bright light in the darkness is--"

"Mamoru." Ibuki gives Mamoru's arm a light tug. "Please sleep."

"I have work to do."

"You can't work if you can't even keep your eyes open."

"I wasn't--"

Ibuki's hand brushes the back of Mamoru's and any retort he might have had is silenced in a confusing instant. "Come on," he whispers, wrapping his hand around Mamoru's, "we'll make it work."

It's a good thing it's dark, because Mamoru's face burns, even more so when he realizes that Ibuki is only wearing a pair of pajama pants and no shirt, and he's practically feverish when he realizes there is one bed, one pillow, one blanket, and two of them.

Mamoru doesn't know what kind of sleeper Ibuki really is; he's only seen him napping face-down on his desk or sitting upright in a chair with his eyes closed. Is he the kind of person who steals blankets and sprawls out? Does he curl up in a ball and wrap his arms around anything else in the bed with him? Does he have night terrors?

Any way they try to get comfortable, they can't.

Ibuki sleeps on his back, Mamoru on his side; the tatami mat is too narrow for the both of them to sleep on comfortably and the one pillow means either of them has to sleep without neck support. Mamoru is about to suggest that he just sleep at the desk as he was allegedly doing before when Ibuki pulls Mamoru onto the pillow with him, and now they're face-to-face in the darkness, staring at each other from ten centimeters away on opposite ends of the pillow.

"It's not ideal," Ibuki whispers, and his warm breath tickles Mamoru's neck, "but we can sleep like this."

Instead of a coherent response, Mamoru sort of makes a gurgling noise at the back of his throat, which Ibuki either doesn't hear or chooses to ignore.

They lie together like this for nearly ten minutes. Mamoru's arm is starting to go numb from lying on it, and he's debating the merits of shifting inward a little more without ending up practically lying on Ibuki when Ibuki clears his throat and says Mamoru's name, hesitantly, questioningly.

"Mm?"

"Can I..." He trails off, clearly not intending to complete the thought without prompting. Mamoru is about to ask _can you what_ when Ibuki places his hand on the curve of Mamoru's waist.

His breath hitches in his throat.

"C-can you what?" he manages, though it's readily apparent to the both of them at this point what Ibuki was trying to ask permission to do.

"You're a beautiful man," Ibuki whispers in response, and Mamoru can feel his face on fire. "I can't explain what you've made me feel all these years we've known each other, but... I do know, with certainty, that you're beautiful in more ways than just your face."

Mamoru tries and fails to work his jaw and respond. It's probably for the best; what does a man say to something like this? Is Ibuki trying to tell Mamoru he's attracted to him?

Because, god, Mamoru is agonizingly attracted to Ibuki, too.

"You're kind, and thoughtful... optimistic and hardworking, selfless, strong--"

"Ibuki," Mamoru interrupts, wanting to get the next words out of his mouth before he chickened out, "do you want to kiss me?"

Even the whir of the heater seems to go silent; Ibuki's breathing has stopped, his heartbeat inaudible. It's too presumptuous a question, Mamoru realizes too late, a question predicated on the assumption that Ibuki is physically attracted to him instead of emotionally attached to all of Mamoru's positive personality traits. It's presumptuous, because Mamoru is projecting all of his own feelings for Ibuki _onto_ Ibuki, feelings he's held close to his heart and away from the subject of his desires as he _should,_ because Ibuki Kouji is his friend, his coworker, his _boss_ , and it's inappropriate to think of him as anything more.

What he isn't expecting is a breathless whisper. "I don't know how."

They draw close together, until their bodies touch; Mamoru puts a shaky hand to Ibuki's jaw and tilts his head forward. "It's not hard. Just... do what I do, okay?"

But it _is_ hard, it's hard because Mamoru shouldn't be doing this, not with his best friend, not with his _boss_ , why does he keep coming back to that thought? He can't kiss his boss, it's unethical, it'll cause problems in the workplace--

"Mamoru...?" Ibuki's voice is hesitant.

_He's not really your boss,_ the lonely, longing part of him says, _he's the director but he's also another clan leader, you're equals, he sees you as an equal, he trusts you--_

_He trusts you,_ he reminds himself again, and a third time to hammer it home, _we both want to do this, it's okay._

It's okay.

Just this once.

Mamoru places his hand on Ibuki's cheek and pulls their faces together. Ibuki's lips are chapped from the dry, cold winter and taste of lingering minty toothpaste; he stays perfectly still as Mamoru works on finding a comfortable angle for the two of them. But try as he might, Mamoru can't do this lying on his side, so he hoists himself up and positions himself above Ibuki's body by his elbows, taking a moment to look down into the shadowed face of the most beautiful man in Tokyo looking back up at him.

He leans in and kisses him again.

Every nerve in his body fires off at once as Ibuki's lips part for Mamoru's. No kiss had ever felt so good, no matter how experienced the partner, than this man's; he's demure in ways Mamoru had never thought possible, willing and waiting for every touch of Mamoru's fingers to his beautifully toned chest and his long, soft hair, eyes focused on the man above him even as Mamoru presses his tongue to Ibuki's lips and Ibuki lets him in, lets him taste him, explore him--

_Just this once._

Mamoru pulls away with an involuntary gasp, breathing heavily as he hovers over Ibuki's body on his hands and knees.

"I'm sorry," he whispers raggedly, willing his shaking limbs to stay strong. "I... I think we should stop there."

Ibuki reaches up and brushes Mamoru's hair behind his ear. "I understand."

"It's just, it's just--"

_If we keep going, where will we stop next?_

"I understand," Ibuki repeats, and he coaxes Mamoru down to the mat, pulling Mamoru's head onto his shoulder. They shift around until they're comfortable, with Mamoru snuggled into Ibuki's chest and his arm draped over his waist. "Thank you, Mamoru."

Mamoru's body relaxes into Ibuki's as he drifts off to sleep. He's so tired, now that the adrenaline is wearing off. "For...?"

Ibuki doesn't respond, and Mamoru is too tired to wait for him to, so they drift off, together.

* * *

Ibuki wakes at six-thirty to Mamoru sleeping on his chest and a blinking Line notification on his phone. It's Miwa, who has sent him a private message outside of the Vanguard Association chat.

[01:45 Miwa Taishi] nothing happened to you last night, right?

This is a terribly loaded question, Ibuki thinks, glancing down at the sleeping man whose legs are tangled in Ibuki's while he drools onto Ibuki's bare chest.

[06:32 Ibuki Kouji] No, no one tried to break in or anything.

No, nothing happened, except he and Anjou Mamoru had come very close to crossing a line in their relationship neither could undo.

He scrolled aimlessly through the news feed on his phone until the Line notification flashed again.

[06:43 Miwa Taishi] that's good but not exactly what i meant  
[06:43 Miwa Taishi] with anjou

Ibuki's finger hovers over the phone, dread filling his entire body.

[06:44 Ibuki Kouji] What do you mean?

The bubble reading "typing..." popped up at the bottom of the conversation almost instantly.

[06:44 Miwa Taishi] you don't have like any furniture  
[06:44 Miwa Taishi] where did he sleep

Oh no.

[06:46 Ibuki Kouji] At my desk.  
[06:46 Miwa Taishi] where'd he sleep really  
[06:48 Ibuki Kouji] Why are you asking these questions?  
[06:48 Miwa Taishi] remember when we went out drinking  
[06:48 Miwa Taishi] when kai came back from france  
[06:49 Miwa Taishi] and kai had like two beers because he's a lightweight  
[06:49 Miwa Taishi] said god i miss aichi  
[06:49 Miwa Taishi] and fell asleep

It was hard to forget something like that. Kai pined so hard for Aichi when he was intoxicated. (And all the time, really, but it was at least a verbal pining when he was drunk.)

[06:50 Ibuki Kouji] What does this have to do with me?  
[06:51 Miwa Taishi] that night you got a little sloshed too

Oh _no._

[06:51 Miwa Taishi] said something about how anjou was really pretty when i said at least kai had good taste in men

_Oh no._

[06:51 Miwa Taishi] i mean he is so you don't have bad taste either i guess  
[06:52 Ibuki Kouji] I don't have any recollection of this.  
[06:53 Miwa Taishi] doesn't mean it didn't happen  
[06:53 Miwa Taishi] i'm just saying i think you have feelings for him

No kidding.

[06:53 Miwa Taishi] just thought it might be a good time for you to say something

How obvious was he that even Miwa had noticed? No, that wasn't it. Miwa is far more observant of other people's feelings than he seems; he was the first friend Ibuki ever had, and Ibuki owes him the same trust that Miwa shows for his friends.

Still, it's hard to type the next words, and Ibuki tries several variations before deleting every one of them and settling on simplicity.

[06:56 Ibuki Kouji] We kissed.  
[06:56 Miwa Taishi] what  
[06:56 Miwa Taishi] oh my god ibuki, really  
[06:58 Ibuki Kouji] We shared my bed and it... happened.  
[06:58 Miwa Taishi] it  
[06:59 Ibuki Kouji] Kissing. Only kissing.

It takes Miwa a few minutes to compose himself. Ibuki's foot twitches with anxiety, and he wonders if it's alerted Mamoru. The sleeping man doesn't stir.

[07:04 Miwa Taishi] do you want more

He doesn't even know what he wants anymore. The nerves under his skin had felt like lava ready to burst last night as Mamoru touched him; it wasn't a bad feeling, just new. New, but not unwelcome.

[07:06 Ibuki Kouji] I want him to be comfortable with me.  
[07:07 Ibuki Kouji] Whatever he's comfortable with, so am I.  
[07:07 Ibuki Kouji] With everything that's going on, we can't afford to let this distract us, though.  
[07:08 Miwa Taishi] all the more reason to finish this mission soon, huh

Ibuki can't agree more.

They chat aimlessly for a few more minutes before Mamoru lets out a soft moan and shifts around on Ibuki's chest. Ibuki fires off a "he's awake, I'll talk to you later" message before setting his phone aside and turning his attention to Mamoru.

"Good morning."

Mamoru gives him a sleepy smile, face tinged with pink. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

He had, for once.

"Yeah. You?"

"Mm-hmm." Mamoru staggers to a sitting position and rubs his eyes. "What's the time?"

"Seven-fifteen."

They don't have a meeting until ten.

_We could get breakfast,_ Mamoru chatters on, collecting his folders from the desk, there's a place that sells croquettes not too far from here, but they always sell out early so they should probably go sooner rather than later if we don't want the best ones to be eaten before they get there--

Ibuki watches Mamoru gather his things and get dressed and wonders if this is what a normal life might be like someday, getting a decent night's sleep, waking up in the arms of a beautiful man, going out for breakfast to avoid eating the twelfth caloriemate since Sunday (it's Wednesday). It's not something he's ever thought possible for himself, so he's never given it much thought, this domestic life, but it's not a bad image of the future, is it?


End file.
